That night, Su Qin lay motionless on his bed, staring blankly. He had pretty much laid his cards on the table with Yaron that day.
All that remained was deciding when to discuss the engagement. Su Qin was filled with frustration. Most men entertained the idea of marrying several wives, and selfishness was perfectly normal. He was actually quite fond of Dragon Mother and Little Rose.
[Host, why not choose to have them all?]
Su Qin started. "System, you're alive again?"
[A reminder, host: you can only have one child with any one woman.]
"What does that have to do with having them all?"
[That means you will have very few descendants. This will be a devastating blow to the future.]
[To the past... it will also be a devastating blow.]
"Can you spell it out?"
[The time has not yet come.]
[Host, don't you also like that woman's voice? Why not bravely admit that you want them all?]
[Or are you still influenced by modern thinking from Blue Star? Are you a pig, host?]
[I truly cannot understand why the Yellow Dragon, which places the greatest importance on the union of yin and yang and the continuation of its bloodline, would reject its own nature.]
[Host, remember, you are an emperor. If an emperor marries only one wife and cherishes only one wife, the world will be destroyed. That is all I have to say!]
Silence filled the air. Su Qin thought for half the night before slowly drifting off to sleep.
The next day, Su Qin was invited to the barracks to spar with the knights and soldiers. Naturally, he won every bout. Everyone also realized that the rumors were true! Since Su Qin had twice taken on a group of enemies single-handedly, they gave him an unofficial nickname:
"Su Qin the Lion!"
Su Qin felt helpless. Didn't the lion clash with House Lannister? Unfortunately, it was also a fitting description, and it soon spread among the nobility.
A nickname like this, without official recognition, would of course not be entered into the records.
That evening, Su Qin handed his coat of arms, Yellow Dragon flag, and noble seal to Yaron. The coat of arms and seal soon reached Maester Denwen, who promptly copied and recorded them, then sent them to King's Landing and the city of maesters to be entered into their archives.
The name Su Qin Herculys began to appear in the annals of civilization.
Meanwhile, the family banner bearing his coat of arms-the Yellow Dragon flag-lay in the young woman's lavish sewing room.
Inside the purple sewing room, Delia carefully examined the Yellow Dragon on the flag.
"This Qilin's eyes and scales are so crudely stitched. It looks like a shoddy rush job!"
"And why do these Qilin horns look so awkward? Such imposing horns, yet the stitching makes them look worse than House Baratheon's stinking stag!"
"No! Absolutely not! This family banner disgraces the family's dignity and honor!" Delia shouted toward the door, "Maid, invite my chief seamstresses over. I have something to discuss with them. Make sure they all come!"
That night, the flowers were lovely and the moon was full, and the night passed without sleep!
The funeral was arranged for Monday morning. Monday was the Sea God's day.
Yet as descendants of the First Men, the people of Runestone Territory should have worshipped the Old Gods! Perhaps, however, their thousands of years of dealings with the sea had led many of the common people to turn their faith to the Sea God.
Or, by his other name, the "Drowned God!"
Nobles could have arranged funerals according to their own beliefs, but they still had to consider the beliefs of the common people. In this era, that too was an important matter.
On that day, everyone wore black and silently watched the priest scatter the ashes of the earl's eldest son into the sea, while the musicians around them sang a dirge in unison.
The faith of the Old Gods held that ashes carried the soul, and that allowing the wind to carry those ashes into the sea would let the soul return to the realm of the gods. This was a matter of faith.
The ceremony passed safely under tight guard. The lord's wife cried until her eyes were blurred with tears. He had been the son she took the greatest pride in. He had been so brave and commanding, and so kind to his people!
He had been the successor the earl had personally raised. But the House of Wickenden Clan had destroyed him! Yet the House of Wickenden's most promising eldest son had also been killed.
A blood feud had thus been forged.
The precious amethyst obtained from the first hunt ultimately reached its proper destination.
Amethyst was a crucial source of magical energy for sustaining the magic of the Wall. House Runestone had honored that ancient agreement for thousands of years: every year, they hunted a Crystal Shark, then sent the amethysts together to Castle Black in the North.
This was their glory and distinction. In fact, many houses still honored ancient pacts. Some were illustrious, while others remained unknown.
Some houses even took the initiative to hunt more Crystal Sharks. Although they used this activity to earn honor and gold, they also unwittingly protected the people behind the Wall.
After the funeral, the minor lords began returning to their fiefs one after another, Su Qin among them.
Two days later, dressed in his gold-threaded gull attire, Su Qin slowly mounted his warhorse and rode out through the gates of Runestone Castle to return home. Just as he was about to leave, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Ser Su Qin Herculys, wait!"
Su Qin turned to look. It was the earl's daughter, Delia Royce. House Runestone was House Royce; it could be referred to by its lands or by its surname.
For example, the Earl of Runestone referred to Yaron Royce, while the Baron of Gulltown was Su Qin Herculys. Of course, the head of House Royce also had a nickname of his own: "Bronze Yaron" was Earl Yalun's nickname.
Su Qin looked at the earl's daughter. Delia wore a black silk noblewoman's gown. She stood about 1.7 meters tall, with long, glossy, straight hair and lovely features.
Su Qin dismounted and waited for the earl's daughter to bid him farewell. Delia slowly approached with two maids and attendants. She stopped before him and silently smoothed the creases in his clothes.
Su Qin raised his head to find Delia's lovely purple eyes fixed on him. "I prepared some gifts for you!"
Delia clapped her hands, and a maid holding a family banner slowly unfurled it.
The Yellow Dragon upon it was majestic, imposing, and lifelike!
"I love the Qilin flag. It has also given me a few imaginings about your homeland, ser!"
She clapped again. A maid set a bundle on the ground and slowly opened it, revealing a pile of gold coins. "This is the gold I earned sewing clothes for the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms. I know you need it badly, or you wouldn't have sold such precious medicine to merchants for so little."
"Did you know? One pill fetched a price of two thousand gold coins at auction in Pentos!"
"I know you have some questions, but a clever person can easily deduce that the medicine came from you!"
"Fortunately, the initiative is in our hands!"
Su Qin kept staring at Delia, genuinely somewhat shocked. Delia smiled. "There are a thousand gold coins here. They're my gift to you. I'm very grateful that you saved my father. I truly do have feelings for you."
Direct and effective! As Su Qin looked at the young woman before him, he was deeply moved. She slowly stepped closer, tilted her head up, and half closed her eyes.
Su Qin slowly wrapped his arms tightly around Delia's waist, and their lips responded to each other.
On the wall, Earl Yalun watched the two embracing and kissing below and smiled at the countess beside him. "To save the people of a little village, that lad foolishly charged into a crowd of barbarians all by himself. I don't think there's anyone more suitable!"
The blue-eyed countess nodded. "I believe my father will give them his blessing too!"
"But he must also be told not to charge in quite so recklessly. I don't want my beautiful, virtuous daughter living like a widow!"
"I'll warn him!" Yaron slowly departed with the countess.
Su Qin brought three gifts back to Gulltown. The first was the Yellow Dragon flag, to be hung in the lord's council chamber. The system showed that it had actually reached blue quality and could increase prestige. The second was one thousand gold coins. The third was apparently a fiancée; the engagement date would soon be set.